Re: 1) Fuel Capacity in the wings is 57 per side (114 total) and a belly tank is available for an additional 28 for a total of 142 gal.   The belly tank conforms well to the design of the plane and is hard to notice unless you have a non-turbine to compare it with so drag may well be minimal.  I am told a belly tank of 40 gal is in the works.

We just completed our IV-P Turbine right next to the factory, with their help. Although we haven’t measured it scientifically, we were told the belly tank added about 12 gallons, all of which should be viewed as unusable under normal circumstances. We have heard nothing and seen nothing there on a 28 or 40 gallon belly tank (most recent visit 2 weeks ago, going again in 2 weeks). Personally, I can’t imagine a 40 gallon belly, and even a 28 (more than twice the size of ours) would present some pretty severe design and flight problems (from what I’ve seen). There is not much space between the nose well and the main wells, and not all of it is usable to hang a tank from. The basic footprint is going to have to be much the same as ours, unless they are going to redesign the airplane. That means the extra capacity is all going to be vertical. If our tank adds 4” to the belly, a 28 gal tank is going to add 10”, and a 40 gal tank is going to add about 3 feet, at which point it would contact the ground. Perhaps a couple of belly wheels?

Our total fuel capacity is expected to be about 122 gallons.

There just isn’t anyplace to permanently add any real fuel to the IV. Our solution is going to be to have an aux. tank that fits neatly into the back seat area with the upholstery removed. We should be able to carry about 60 gallons there, and installed aux. tank hose fittings into the wings for it (hidden under the upholstery). A couple of braided hoses will make the connections. We have cargo tie down points hidden under the seats to hold the tank in. Aside from this being a much bigger tank than one could possibly build into the belly, it will be 100% usable, increasing our range by perhaps 2 hours.

Brian Barbata

N104PT